Day of Shopping

Today was a day full of shopping. Eric was able to meet us at our hotel today, and he experienced how crazy taxi rides can be as he felt like he was taken in circles and charged way more than our normal rate. It's so frustrating. After he got here, we went to a shopping market, different than the one Patricia and I accidentally ran into last week. We had heard this one wasn't quite a busy, or the salespeople quite as pushy. So we got in our taxi and headed down there. It was a lot nicer, and although the salespeople tried to stop you to look at their things, it wasn't quite as bad as the other one was. We were able to get a lot of things we were hoping to purchase while in China, and Eric was the master barterer, although he wouldn't say he was. They always start out so high, and we just have to remember to start out just as low. We were there for about 2 1/2 hours and then we decided to go get something to eat.

The other night on our way home from the US Embassy, Patricia and I saw a Pizza Hut and a Baskin Robbins. We knew it wasn't too far from where we were, so we got in taxi went there. I have to say, the pizza was DELICIOUS! It tasted so good. And then of course, we had to go get ice cream from Baskin Robbins. It was a great day!

This picture is for you, Vickie! :)

After that, we came back to the hotel for a bit so I could crash before Eric and I went to Tiananmen Square together. Eric just wanted to see it and say he'd been there, and since it's only about a 10 minute walk from the hotel we decided to head down. On our walk there, a Chinese guy walking alongside us started talking to us. He is an English teacher in Shanghai and was here on an exchange with other teachers from Beijing. He talked to Eric about the Paralymics, and what we've seen and done. It was then that we told him we were going to the square and he informed us that it was closed for the day! What??? We were bummed. I guess they have it all closed off for a firework show they are doing tomorrow night in conjunction with the closing ceremonies. Dang it. We went ahead and walked down to the square so Eric could see some of it, he took some pictures, although it was really cloudy and hazy today. Then we stopped in some of local souvenir shops on the street and decided to head back before it got too late. All of a sudden though, the sky turned completely black and the wind started to blow, and before we knew it we were caught in a thunderstorm. Luckily we made it back before it downpoured, but it's been a crazy storm all night.

After that Eric headed back up to the Athlete Village and Patricia and I relaxed in the hotel by watching a movie. Tomorrow night is closing ceremonies. It's crazy to believe our trip is coming to a close. Patricia and I were just talking today about how quickly its all gone by. Don't get me wrong, I will be completely excited to go home, hug my boy, sleep in my nice soft bed, eat chips and salsa, etc...but overall, this trip has been amazing.

I was able to download some pictures from Eric's camera today, so here's another picture of me on the Great Wall. This is just before you get to the 2nd guard tower. You can already see how high up we are, and we went even further, making it to the 3rd guard tower. What a crazy experience. Fortunately for me, I am not too sore today. I only feel it if I'm going down stairs or a ramp (go figure!). Maybe my 1 hour hot bath last night really helped!

This is a another picture from Eric's camera that I took yesterday of Eric eating at the local restaurant. See we have proof! He actually ate Chinese food! Don't let the chopsticks fool you though, that was the only bite he used them with. The rest of the time he used the fork...cheater!